Returning to Grace
by KnightMysterio
Summary: A Marvel: Avengers Alliance collection of short stories. Each of the so called 'Lockbox Heroes,' reformed villains or villains who are behaving themselves at the moment, has their reason for switching sides and joining SHIELD. Here are those reasons, told in story form...
1. Magneto

_**Returning to Grace**_

_**A Marvel: Avengers Alliance fanfiction**_

_**by Jonathan 'KnightMysterio' Spires**_

_**Chapter 1: Magneto**_

_ All characters not original copyrighted to Marvel and used without permission for non-profit amusement reasons. All original characters copyrighted to me. Agent in this and subsequent stories is male and based on me, but my in-game Agent is female. _

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_Helicarrier..._

_Air deck..._

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The mighty SHIELD helicarrier loomed large over the city. Quinjets and fighter jets lay on the deck, ready for action at a moment's notice. Blue bodysuit clad SHIELD agents ran back and forth over the carrier's surface, maintaining the vehicles.

And at the very end of the air deck, floating in a bubble of magnetic force and overlooking the city, was one of the most powerful beings on the planet. The Master of Magnetism, Magneto.

His costume cut a striking figure, red with purple gloves, boots, cape, and trunks, his helmet red with purple highlights, designed both to protect from psychic attacks and to shadow his face, making him look even more fearsome. His manner was regal, although if one could look into his eyes at this moment, one could see a tiredness in them.

The other agents carefully stayed out of his way. Magneto had recently proclaimed himself an ally of SHIELD, but they were still afraid of him. He didn't care. They were barely beneath his notice, tools for his ultimate goal, the salvation of mutantkind.

Behind him, a lone agent, clad in a black bodysuit and trenchcoat, walked up to him, his hands in his pockets. He was muscular, like all the agents, and had short brown hair, unease in his blue eyes as he came up to Magento. As he got closer, however...

"What do you want, Agent Towers?" Magneto said, not turning around. "I could sense the metal of your equipment as you got closer."

Agent Towers nodded, having expected that. "Magneto? Sir? Could you... y'know, land?"

"Why?" Magneto asked, scowling.

"I just want to talk," he said.

"Again I ask: Why?" Magneto said, turning and glaring at the Agent.

"You're a part of the team now," Agent Towers said, smiling nervously. "I like to get to know the people I'm working with. Even if they were part of a terrorist faction beforehand."

"Hmph..." Magneto said. "Terrorists... The Brotherhood were meant to be freedom fighters, warriors dedicated to the cause of mutantkind..."

Agent Towers frowned. "Having psychopaths like Sabertooth and in-it-for-the-cash thugs like Blob sort of hurt your arguments there, sir..."

"Sabertooth's murderous impulses can be directed to a good cause," Magneto said, waving dismissively and starting to turn around again. "And Blob, contrary to popular belief, does believe in my cause. You're a human, you couldn't possibly understand..."

"Human yes," Agent Towers said. "but both of my parents were mutants."

Magneto whirled, his eyes widening.

Agent Towers nodded. "My Dad was a flier, and my Mom had green skin and the ability to generate illusions. Dad I lost to Sentinels, and my Mom was beaten to death in an anti-mutant riot that took place around the same time. I joined SHIELD specifically because I wanted to have the power and authority to protect mutants, and the guns to wreck Sentinels whenever I find them."

Magneto stared at him for a long moment, trying to determine if he was lying. He remembered flashes of previous battles, seeing the sheer glee on the Agent's face every time he saw a Sentinel get destroyed, either by his own hands or by the powers of his heroic allies...

Agent Towers smiled, and started to turn around. "If you like, I can go get my personnel file," he said.

"I believe you," Magneto said, slowly lowering himself to the surface of the hovering helicarrier. "My apologies. Perhaps you do understand, at least after a fashion..."

Agent Towers sighed in relief. "I'll still send a copy over later," he said. "That being said, Magento, I..." He frowned, trying to form the words he wanted to say. "...You always struck me as being saner and more reasonable than, say, Mystique. A true believer, but not to a crazy level."

Magneto nodded, frowning. "Yes... Mystique's obsessions get the best of her more often than not..." he admitted.

Agent Towers nodded. "Right, yes. Which is why some of what you've done... it just makes no sense!" he said. "You're a good man, Magneto, I can tell. But forming a group of terrorists like the Brotherhood, and just recently your attempt to ally with the Syndicate..." He shook his head, throwing up his hands in confusion. "I don't know. You just seemed more suited to Xavier's group than the Brotherhood."

Magneto actually chuckled at that. "You truly believe that?"

Agent Towers shrugged. "You never struck me as the truly malevolent type. You've done terrible things, sure, but I never got a sense it was out of the same kind of hatred that Mystique has..."

"Never assume, Agent," Magneto said, pulling off his helmet, revealing the weary expression on his face in full. He ran a gloved hand through his shoulder-length white hair, and looked out over the city again. "While I do not actively seek genocide, as Mystique does, I am more than prepared to go through with it if I deem it necessary to protect mutantkind from humanity's machinations."

Agent Towers frowned, having nothing to say to that. Anything he could think of he was worried would just anger the powerful mutant.

A long moment of silence passed between the two of them. Eventually, Magneto sighed, and began to speak. "Can mutants co-exist with humanity? Or must mutants dominate the human race to ensure their survival? Such has been the eternal argument between Charles Xavier and myself."

Agent Towers just folded his arms, letting him speak. Magneto continued, "I formed the Brotherhood of Mutants as my answer to that argument: a fraternity dedicated to the superiority and safety of all mutantkind, whether they considered themselves members or not."

Magneto turned, giving Agent Towers an intense stare. "The things I saw at Auschwitz as a boy led me to believe that Homo Sapiens must be restrained, lest they destroy all that is different from themselves. And if the humans are too powerful to fight at first, then simply hang back and wait for your chance."

_That's right, he's a Holocaust survivor, _Agent Towers remembered. Magneto put on his helmet again, scowling. "These were my thoughts when the Syndicate asked me to join their group. They had need of both my connections and my powers over magnetism, in order to further their study of Isotope-8.

Agent Towers grimaced, looking down at the colorful, slightly glowing crystals embedded into his belt, their energies enhancing his strength and reflexes. The crystals from space had been a problem ever since they showed up, the tiny, colorful gems seemingly having a million and more uses.

Magento saw the Agent's expression and chuckled. "Indeed. Those delightful stones that have caused so many problems. To say nothing of the Syndicate's use of them," he muttered. "I agreed to enter the Syndicate to make sure mutants would not be targeted by their plans, and to work against them from within. Unfortunately, Mystique, my lieutenant in the Brotherhood, saw it only as betrayal."

"Didn't you explain your plan to her?" Agent Towers asked, frowning.

"I tried to," Magneto said sadly. "But Mystique can be remarkably stubborn when she gets an idea into her head..."

Agent Towers sighed. "Yeah... A real bulldog, that one..."

Magneto nodded. "Upon entering the Syndicate," he said, continuing, "I had access to their most secret projects. My worst fears were confirmed when I discovered that they planned to resurrect the Red Skull, the most notorious of the Nazi regime's operatives."

Agent Towers shivered at the mention of the name. SHIELD had recently tried and failed to stop the resurrection of the fearsome Nazi villain. Now he was back, and the world had a new menace to deal with...

Magneto nodded. "Knowing that the Red Skull would stop at nothing to destroy all mutants if given the chance, I began to work at sabotaging the Syndicate. But Dr. Doom must have discovered my plan. I barely escaped with my life..."

"That I'm surprised at," Agent Towers said. "I always pegged you as equal to Doom in power."

Magneto chuckled weakly. "I appreciate the compliment, Agent, but Doom is unfortunately the kind of person who prepares for dealing with beings of my power. Your Iron Man is the same. You've noticed I have never attacked his armor directly in recent battles?"

Agent Towers nodded, understanding. "He was prepared to counter your powers," he said, frowning.

Magneto nodded. "Now, hunted by both the Syndicate and the Brotherhood, I've realized that I cannot afford to nurse my pride. I will do ANYTHING to prevent the Red Skull and his kind from returning to positions of power. Even if I must join forces with SHIELD..."

"Our team is all the better for having you with us," Agent Towers said, smiling.

"Hmph," Magneto grunted, putting his helmet back on. "You seem to be the only one who thinks so, save for Charles."

Agent Towers smiled. "If nothing else, this sets a good precedence. And gives us a goal," he said.

Magneto gave him a wary look. "What do you mean?"

"To get the Brotherhood to join us," Agent Towers said. At Magneto's scoff, he said, "I'm serious. You're one of the top two leaders in the mutant community. Even with the supposed 'betrayal,' mutants are still drawn to you. I'm betting that other Brotherhood members will start to cross over as well. Maybe even Mystique."

Magento stared at the Agent, suddenly realizing that he believed these absurdly hopeful words. And for the first time in a while, Magneto began to feel hope as well.

"Perhaps..." he said, smiling. He floated up into the air again. "Now, unless you wish me to accompany you on a mission, then I want to be alone."

Agent Towers grinned. "There's no missions right now. After the Syndicate broke up, things have been fairly quiet. We'll be heading to London soon, but until then we're good."

Magneto nodded. "Then leave me. I wish to be alone with my thoughts for now..." he said, turning to stare out at the city once more.

Agent Towers nodded, calmly walking away. As he left, Magneto turned slightly to watch him go.

_Heh... Optimistic sort, isn't he? _Magneto thought idly. _Time will tell how long that lasts. Although... although a part of me hopes that he's right, and that the Brotherhood will follow me into SHIELD..._ He closed his eyes, saying a silent prayer for his comrades.

_**THE END...**_


	2. Omega Sentinel

_**Returning to Grace**_

_**A Marvel: Avengers Alliance fanfiction**_

_**by Jonathan 'KnightMysterio' Spires**_

_**Chapter 2: Omega Sentinel**_

_ All characters not original copyrighted to Marvel and used without permission for non-profit amusement reasons. All original characters copyrighted to me. Agent in this and subsequent stories is male and based on me, but my in-game Agent is female. _

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_Stark Tower..._

_A laboratory..._

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"She's in there?" Agent Towers asked.

The blue-furred Beast and the uncharacteristically solemn Tony Stark both looked at each other and nodded. "Yep," Tony said. "Recuperating from having her brain freed of Sentinel programming. We used what we learned in getting Vision on our side to pretty much decimate the Sentinel code forced into her brain."

"She's still hurting right now, Agent," Beast said. "So be gentle with her."

Agent Towers just nodded, clenching his fist tightly. "I know, I know..."

Beast frowned. "I've read your files, Agent Towers. I know you lost your family to Sentinels. But remember, she's just as much of a victim as you were. She lost herself to them."

Agent Towers grimaced. "It's... hard..." he said. "I know intellectually that she's a human, but after fighting her so many times..."

Tony smiled gently. "Look at it this way," he said. "Get her on your side, and you can have the pleasure of using a Sentinel to smash other Sentinels! Irony! So delicious."

Agent Towers turned to stare at Tony, and then shook his head. "You're full of it, Stark. Anyone ever tell you that?"

"Every hour on the hour," Tony said with a smirk. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to hack SHIELD's database again and get her registered as an Avenger before the delightfully charming and sexy Maria Hill can stop me."

Beast chuckled. "You'd think with the number of times that you and/or Doom or some other miscreant has broken into SHIELD's central files that they'd change their passwords."

"That would require change," Tony said as he and Beast went down the hall. "And Fury's too stubborn to change anything except his underwear, and even then he has to think about it."

Beast laughed. Agent Towers barely noticed, staring at the door. After a moment, he pushed the door open and went inside, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

Sitting on the exam table, staring at a picture of herself from when she was still human, was a woman clad in what looked like a white bodysuit, one that covered her almost entirely, leaving her dark-skinned face and long hair exposed. Lines highlighted the bodysuit in various places, Agent Towers knowing that many of those lines could split open to reveal hidden weapons. Weapons for butchering mutants.

_Damn it, stop, _Agent Towers told himself. _Primes like her are victims, changed by Bastion into Sentinels. _He shook his head, and forced a smile on his face.

"Omega Sentinel," he said. The woman turned, staring at him. Agent Towers smiled, nodding. "I'm Agent Towers. I'm currently the head of the SHIELD Metahuman and Vigilante Cooperative Commission, and..."

"I remember you," Omega Sentinel said softly. "My database and memory banks were not erased when my mind was freed and my humanity restored. I remember our battles."

His fists reflexively clenched again. "Oh?"

Omega Sentinel smiled weakly. "Yes... Thank you for stopping me," she said. "I... I don't want to harm innocent people, human or mutant..." She took a deep breath. "In the battle that resulted in my capture, you tried to kill me. Iron Man had to hold you back."

"Yes..." Agent Towers said warily.

"Why?" Omega Sentinel asked, her expression sad.

Agent Towers hesitated a long moment. "Both my parents were mutants. One I lost to a Sentinel, the other to an anti-mutant riot caused by the Sentinel's presence. I've hated them ever since."

Omega Sentinel's eyes glowed slightly, and Agent Towers knew he was being scanned. "You register as human. Iso-8 enhanced, but human."

Agent Towers shrugged. "I can't help that."

Omega Sentinel nodded, and went back to staring at the floor. "You must hate me," she said softly. "Because I am a Sentinel as well..."

Agent Towers clenched his fists again... and sighed. "Yes," he admitted. "But I don't want to. Maybe..." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Tell me about yourself, Omega Sentinel. Tell me how... how 'this' happened to you..."

Omega Sentinel nodded, sighing. "My name is Karima Shapandar. I didn't know that five minutes ago," she said.

_Pretty name, _the Agent thought, blinking in surprise at the thought. Omega Sentinel continued. "The Prime Sentinel program took my memories from me, and I am only now getting them back."

The Agent blinked in surprised. "But... wait, didn't Stark and Beast get you deprogrammed more than an hour ago?"

Omega Sentinel smiled weakly. "Yes. But my mind is still breaking free of the Sentinel programming's influence. Memories started to come back almost instantly, but my name only came to me just before you came in..."

Agent Towers frowned, feeling a pang of sympathy for her. "Please, continue," he said.

Omega Sentinel nodded, looking down at the picture of her human self again. She sighed, and continued. "I was a detective in the Indian National Police Force. I was good at my job. Good enough that the Chief of Police assigned me to be the bodyguard of his son, Neal."

She held up her palm, a hologram of a young man in an INPF uniform appearing in it. "The Chief's elder son, Sanjit, had gone missing while researching mysterious disappearances on the streets of Kolkata. I decided to take up the case."

The hologram shifted, changing into that of a Prime Sentinel. Omega Sentinel scowled. "I discovered that people were being transformed into Prime Sentinels, cyborg sleeper agents disguised as humans, designed to hunt down and kill mutants."

_Primes, _thought the Agent angrily. _Of all the disgusting variants of those things, those disgust me the worse. The people they victi... mize... oh hell. _He frowned, realizing for the first time the prejudice he had been showing in his dealings with Omega Sentinel.

Omega Sentinel didn't seem to notice, dispelling the hologram and hugged herself, shivering. "Worse..." she said, "I discovered I was a Prime Sentinel as well. A protoype of a more advanced model called 'Omega.' That's when the programming dropped over me like a shroud." Her voice became quieter. "Only now do I realize what was done to me."

She held up her hands, staring at them. "My bones and muscles were torn from me, replaced with carbonized titanium and reactive polymer. They filled me with plasma weapons, blades, bombs, disruptors, and sensors. So many sensors..." She shivered softly.

Agent Towers put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She smiled weakly at him, and sighed. She gestured, and a holographic overlay of the Tower and the city around it appeared and filled the room, showing several glowing dots. The Agent looked around, realizing what the overlay meant. Omega Sentinel nodded, confirming his suspicions.

"Right now," Omega Sentinel said, "I am automatically tracking all twenty-one thousand, four hundred thirty-eight people in a mile radius around me. Several of them are mutants, and their presence is like an itch in my brain." She closed her hand, and the tracking hologram vanished. "An itch I refuse to scratch."

She looked at the Agent, her expression resolute. "I will never be fully human again, but I will also never be their tool. Call me Omega Sentinel if you wish. But my name is Karima. And I am an Avenger."

Agent Towers closed his eyes and sighed, a smile coming to his face. "Karima," he said. "I am sorry if I ever showed you any bigotry or hatred. I forgot, Primes like you are victims of the Sentinels just as much as those they hunt are. You did not deserve to have this happen to you." He took her hand. "And I swear that I will never let anyone, not the Sentinels, not AIM, nor anyone else like them use you ever again. Welcome to the team."

Omega Sentinel smiled, tears coming to her eyes. "Thank you Agent," she said, standing up and hugging him. "Thank you."

Agent Towers was taken aback for a moment, but he chuckled, hugging her as well.

"Hey, how come you get to hug the pretty robot girl before I do?" Tony said, leaning up against the door to the lab.

Omega Sentinel blushed, she and the Agent stepping away from each other. "Stark, you asshole! There's a reason Director Fury's always so annoyed with you!" 

"Just one?" Tony teased. "Speaking of which, we should probably get going. We've still got Ultron to deal with and I've just detected Crimson Dynamo skulking about. Plus... I sorta... actually... need to actually tell Fury about you."

Agent Towers facepalmed. Omega Sentinel chuckled. "Is he always like this?"

"I'd be worried if he wasn't, honestly," the Agent admitted.

Omega Sentinel smiled. "Then let's go," she said. "Time to get a start on my life again."

_**THE END**_


	3. Juggernaut

_**Returning to Grace**_

_**A Marvel: Avengers Alliance fanfiction**_

_**by Jonathan 'KnightMysterio' Spires**_

_**Chapter 3: Juggernaut**_

_ All characters not original copyrighted to Marvel and used without permission for non-profit amusement reasons. All original characters copyrighted to me. Agent in this and subsequent stories is male and based on me, but my in-game Agent is female. _

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_Manhattan..._

_A bar downtown..._

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Agent Towers shook his head as he wandered into the ruins of the tavern. Several chairs were in pieces, and a good deal of the patrons were cowering in the booths. He could see why, though.

Sitting at the bar was a massive figure, the bar stool bent slightly under his massive weight. His body was a giant wall of solid muscle clad in a form-fitting red costume. A bullet-shaped red helmet lay on the bar, the owner of that helmet running his hands through his hair in frustration as he drank. And surrounding him were various bar patrons in various states of kicked ass.

"Juggernaut," Agent Towers said, trying to hide his frustration.

The massive man ignored him.

Agent Towers rubbed his temples. "Cain..."

"Stick with Juggernaut until I respect you," the massive man said, sipping his beer.

Agent Towers grumbled, folding his arms. "Fine. Juggernaut. What the hell happened?"

"Some assholes mistook me for this Australian rugby player. Or something. I dunno. I stopped caring after the first chair hit me over the back of the head," Juggernaut said.

Agent Towers looked at the ruins of his attackers. "...Was all this really necessary?"

"No," Juggernaut said.

"Then why..."

"Felt like it," Juggernaut said, sipping his beer and giving the Agent an amused look as he facepalmed. The massive man smirked, and said, "If it helps, they all kinda deserved it for more than just bugging me."

"Oh? Did that one guy deserve having a stripper pole wrapped around his neck?" the Agent asked.

"He was harassing the dancers," Juggernaut said. "Thought this was another kinda club."

The Agent blinked. He hadn't expected a good answer. "...The one embedded in the wall?"

"Some family came in with their preteen daughter. He got a little fresher with her than I'm comfortable with," Juggernaut said, calmly sipping his beer.

"The one with a pool cue smashed over his head?"

"Mutant hater. I ain't a mutant, but I don't got nothin' against any that aren't the X-bozos. Hell, I worked for Magneto all this time, didn't I?"

"The one with his arms bent the wrong way?"

"Got grabby with a waitress that I knew, had a date with a couple times."

"The one with the beer can shoved up his butt?"

Juggernaut paused. "...I'm not apologizing for that one."

The Agent facepalmed again, and sat at the bar, ordering a screwdriver. "Juggernaut... this is going nowhere. If we're gonna work together, I want to get to know you, understand you." He gave Juggernaut a pleading look. "If you're gonna force paperwork to cover messes like this on me, you could at least talk to me."

Juggernaut stared at the Agent, and chuckled, shaking his head. "Seriously? You wanna hear my story?"

The Agent nodded. "I do, Juggernaut."

"Hnh. Well, ain't that a peach. All right, here goes: I found a gem in a temple. It let me talk to a god. He made me invincible. The End," Juggernaut said, sipping his beer. He shook his head. "Fat lot of good it did me..." he muttered.

The Agent quirked an eyebrow. "You got huge, a stylish costume with a look that's never gotten old, and are one of the few people on the planet who can fight on equal terms with the Hulk. I'd say it did you a lot of good."

"Sez you," Juggernaut snarled. "All I ever wanted when I got this power was to put my fist through the head of my brainiac half brother-Charles." At the Agent's confused expression, Juggernaut clarified. "You know him as Professor Xavier."

The Agent blinked. "I didn't know you were related to the Professor," he said, frowning. "He plays it very close to the chest with information on his team's foes."

"Figures. Ol' 'Professor X' was always a weaselly little worm," Juggernaut sneered, shaking his head. "Pfft. What kinda dork calls himself 'Professor?'" He began making mincing gestures, his voice becoming a falsetto lilt. "Oooh, look at me! I'm gonna make my own school so you all hafta call me Professor! HA!" He scoffed, making a dismissive gesture with his massive hand. "What a crock..."

The Agent started to speak again, but Juggernaut interrupted him. "And we ain't blood related, either. Thank God. I don't think I could take it if we came from the same parents," he said, scowling. "Ever since we was kids, he's been using his mind-reading garbage to get ahead and keep me down. Even my old man liked him better. Bastard..."

The Agent shook his head. "I'm sure that's not the case," he said as his drink was served. "All fathers love their sons."

Juggernaut snorted. "Lemme guess. Your Dad went to all your soccer games and what not? Got you that G.I. Joe doll when you was a kid, never questioned it if you wanted a My Little Pony instead?"

The Agent grinned. "Well... close enough," he said, reminiscing fondly about his father.

Juggernaut rolled his eyes. "My Dad told me to my face that he liked Charles better. One time, I had a toothache that just kept getting worse and worse, and every time I told Dad about it, he just ignored me or told me to 'man up.' Had to steal out of his wallet to pay for a filling for the cavity that had developed. And when he wasn't praising Charles or ignoring me, he was HITTING me!"

The Agent went wide-eyed, backing up a little as Juggernaut stood up, clenching his fists tightly in anger. "His own son! His own son and he fucking HIT ME!" He whirled, glaring at the Agent. "So pardon me if I don't think you and your superdad can really relate to me, Agent. In fact..." Juggernaut suddenly closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Ah... forget it. The old man's a sore spot."

The Agent just nodded, not trusting himself to say anything more than "I'm sorry."

Juggernaut scoffed again, making a dismissive gesture as he returned to his beer. "...How's your Dad?"

"Died when I was in high school. A Sentinel," the Agent said, frowning sadly and sipping at his screwdriver.

"Goddamn tin cans..." Juggernaut muttered, gently patting the Agent on the shoulder. "Anyway. Charles and his prissy mutant freakshow have always shut me down. Don't matter what I did or who I joined up with. I can punch a mountain to gravel, but I can't kill a cripple." He shook his head in disgusted amazement. "A goddamn cripple."

He turned to the Agent, putting on his helmet. "So here I am," he said, gesturing grandly. "I could say Magneto had the right idea in joining you mooks, or that I had a change of heart, or that Cyttorak told me to switch teams. But that's crap."

He poked the Agent in the chest, nearly knocking him over. "You wanna know why I'm joining you? Simple: I like winning. And I've been losing for too damn long. Screw Charles, screw the X-Men. I'm done wasting my time trying to kill them."

He started out of the bar, throwing some money of the counter. "If that's not a good enough reason for SHIELD," Juggernaut said, not looking back as he left, "they can all line up to kiss my big unstoppable ass. You've got the Juggernaut, whether you want me or not."

"Joy..." the Agent muttered as he looked around the ruins of the bar.

The bartender chuckled. "Betcha you got some paperwork coming your way, don'tcha g-man?"

"Yeah," the Agent muttered. "And worse, I can't make Juggernaut do it all as punishment..."

_**THE END**_


	4. Constrictor

_**Returning to Grace**_

_**A Marvel: Avengers Alliance fanfiction**_

_**by Jonathan 'KnightMysterio' Spires**_

_**Chapter 4: Constrictor**_

_ All characters not original copyrighted to Marvel and used without permission for non-profit amusement reasons. All original characters copyrighted to me. Agent in this and subsequent stories is male and based on me, but my in-game Agent is female. _

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_SHIELD Helicarrier..._

_Holographic training room..._

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Agent Towers strode into the monitor room of the training hall, a deep frown on his face. He wasn't happy about this, but he'd made the offer and was actually a big help.

But the problem was, Frank Payne, also known as the Constrictor, had betrayed the organization to become a mercenary. A supervillain.

The Agent just watched for a moment as Constrictor went through his routine, running on a treadmill. Once he was done, he then turned to the free weights. He blinked, and nodded upon seeing Agent Towers.

"Hey, y'mind spotting me?" he asked.

Agent Towers blinked, but nodded. He helped Constrictor finish his workout. Once he was finished, Constrictor nodded, smiling. He looked around the gym, chuckling. "Been a while since I've seen the inside of a helicarrier," he said, sipping from a water bottle. "Still smells like a locker room full of motor oil, I see."

Agent Towers snickered. "I always thought it smelled like sweaty underwear and old cheese," he said.

Constrictor gave him a look. "Sweaty underwear?"

"My roommate in college was a slob," the Agent said, smirking.

Constrictor cackled. "But yeah. Place still stinks. Chalk that up as another reason I left SHIELD and went into the mercenary biz." 

The Agent nodded, his smirk fading. The two walked to the shower room in an awkward silence. Finally, Constrictor sighed. "I can see what you're thinking, y'know. 'Traitor. Greedy bastard. I'm so much better than him.'"

"You went into supervillainy, Constrictor. What am I supposed to think?" Agent Towers said, scowling.

"You think it's that simple?" Constrictor sneered. "'Oh, I got tired of being a goody good so I'll put on some long underpants and have Spider-Man punch me in the face every other week.' You really think it's that fucking simple. Well, you wait and see. You're still green. You think being a hero's enough to keep you going."

"Shouldn't it be?" Agent Towers asked.

Constrictor shook his head, frowning. "Gimmie a minute or two to shower. We'll talk after," he said.

Agent Towers nodded, and sat down on one of the workout benches while Constrictor got cleaned up. A few minutes later, he came out wearing his full costume. He stared at the Agent for a long moment, and shook his head.

"Rookies..." he said softly.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Agent Towers said.

"It's only a good thing if you live long enough," Constrictor said. "SHIELD runs on rookies like you. They'll send you to the worst places in the world, to fight things you can't even imagine. Year after year, you'll bleed for them, all to defend people who'll never thank you." He shook his head. "Hell, they're doing it to you already. Putting a rookie in charge of the Alliance. My God..."

"I can handle myself," Agent Towers insisted, glowering at Constrictor. "I've done well so far. Plus, being a hero isn't about getting thanks."

Constrictor rolled his eyes. "Sure. Say that now. Then one day you'll limp home after fighting some costumed freak that killed half your squad, and you'll realize you can't pay rent and your only friend is a bottle. Think you'll feel like a hero then?" he said, clenching his fists angrily.

The sight gave the Agent pause. He needed to look into Constrictor's records. What had happened to him to give him so much anger?

Constrictor shook his head, staring out the window. "You'll come to that point some day. When I got there, I chose money over duty. Self-respect over honor. And up until now, I haven't regretted it."

The Agent blinked at the phrasing. "'Up until now?'"

Constrictor pulled up his face mask, revealing his tired eyes. "Yeah... The thing is, I've GOT money now. Hercules beat me half to death the last time we tussled, so I sued him for excessive force. Nobody was more surprised than me when I won. And I won BIG," he said, grinning.

Agent Towers nodded. "I remember that," he said. "Hercules crossed a line. I can understand the need to thump on a supercriminal when they're dangerous enough, but it looked like Hercules was trying to kill you."

"THANK YOU!" Constrictor said, throwing up his arms. "It has been SO DAMN HARD to find people who agree with me about what Jerkules did. SHEESH!"

Agent Towers smirked. "I may not like you all that much," he said, "but I know when one of the costumes crosses a line."

Constrictor grinned. "Heh. I like you, Agent," he said. Agent Towers just grinned. Constrictor chuckled. "Anywhere, where was I?" he muttered.

"You'd just sued Hercules and won," the Agent provided.

"Right, thanks," Constrictor said, continuing. "So anyway. Now that I have all the money I could want, I'm finding it isn't enough. I want to do more. Maybe that's why I joined SHIELD in the first place. Maybe that's why I'm back here now."

The Agent had nothing to say. He'd come into the room feeling dismissive of Constrictor because of his past. Now? Now he wanted to investigate what it was that made him turn against SHIELD. Now he had sort of bonded with Constrictor, finding himself liking the man. It was... confusing.

Constrictor sighed, shaking his head. "That's my advice to you, rook. Don't work for SHIELD because of crap like honor, but because you want a better world. And remember you always have a choice. Even if you chose wrong the first time."

The Agent said nothing. Constrictor picked up his gym bag and headed out, leaving the Agent alone with his thoughts. Perhaps there was more to the former supervillain than Towers had originally suspected...


End file.
